Minister of Defense: Armenia will acquire non-lethal weapons for the 10 million yuan provided by China
ArmInfo. The agreements between Yerevan and Moscow allow the Armenian side to buy latest Russian weapons on the most competitive terms, but a number of types
of Chinese weapons can also be interesting to the Armenian side.
As the "Armenia" TV channel broadcasts, a similar point of view was
expressed by Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan who is in China
on an official visit.
"We have our main ally (Russia - Ed.), which today is one of the
largest arms suppliers in the world, with which there are
understandings that allow us to acquire the most advanced weapons in
the most competitive conditions," the head of the Armenian Defense
Ministry said. He added that if there are other opportunities outside
these agreements that will interest the Armenian side, including
those related to the Chinese arms suppliers, a dialogue will be
conducted.
At the same time, Sargsyan stressed that 10 million yuan (about $
1,522,400) will be acquired for weapons of non-lethal action, as
these are the rules of international military assistance. "In order
to organize military affairs, we need funds, starting with
observation devices and ending with communication facilities, with
numerous auxiliary devices." Without revealing the details, I will
use this to comply with the adopted rules," the minister said. At
the same time, he added that following the results of the meetings in
the NKR, he can say that Beijing will be consistent in its position
on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. "This approach, as you know, has
been balanced over the years - priority is given to the mediation
activities of the OSCE Minsk Group," Sargsyan said.
He also noted that China's interest in the region is increasing, the
country's government announced its intention to build a new Silk
Road: "Any integration structure, or similar program, always carries
the task of ensuring security. Therefore, China's interest is
commensurate and clear, it will be linked to ensuring the security of
the "Economic belt of the Silk Road," the minister concluded.
To remind, according to the Armenian-Russian agreement on granting
Armenia a 200-million loan, for this amount the Armed Forces of the
republic purchased multiple rocket launchers 9K58 Smerch, IGLA SAM,
passive electronic intelligence complex Avtobaza-M, fire-fighting
systems TOS-1A "Solntsepek", armored vehicles "Tiger", anti-tank
missile systems "Contest-M", antitank grenade launchers RPG-26, small
arms, engines and sights for T-72 and BMP tanks, communications
equipment, engineering equipment, Kamaz ". The agreement on granting
credit on preferential terms - to repay a loan with a 3% rate Yerevan
will start only in 2018 in rubles for 10 years, and an advance
payment of only 10% was concluded in 2015. Thus, taking into account
the continuing devaluation of the Russian currency, as well as the
republic's membership in the CSTO, which allows buying weapons at
domestic prices, for $ 200 million, Armenia can acquire an unlimited
amount of Russian arms.